On Saturday, the Labour MP, Catherine West, challenged Keir Starmer's leadership of the party. Since 2015, West has been my local MP in the north London constituency of Hornsey and Friern Barnet. I have repeatedly petitioned her for a ceasefire in Gaza, in response to which she has consistently quoted the party line. In my view, and as her voting record demonstrates, Catherine West has much to answer for the unfolding genocide in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Following Labour's historic losses in the local elections of 7 May 2026, her leadership challenge is merely an insincere attempt at shoring up support in the constituency ahead of the 2029 general election. In 2005, her Labour predecessor and former Home Office minister, Barbara Roche, was ousted from her seat by the Liberal Democrats because of the Iraq war. West will be aware of Roche's fate, and this leadership challenge is a calculated attempt at averting a similar outcome for herself. Let her play at maneuvering, but come 2029, we will not forget Gaza.

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